It has been brought to my attention that I made a terrible mistake in my last letter to the E-R. I accused our misunderstood and unappreciated legislators of trying to solve our budget problems by replacing the 6 percent sales tax on gasoline with a 17.3 percent excise tax. Actually, the proposed new excise tax is 17.3 cents per gallon.

I can”t begin to tell you how embarrassed I am. Our leaders, in a bold and innovative manner, solved the budget crisis, and I sarcastically insinuated that they were just playing the old shell game.

I sincerely apologize for my mistake. I pray that our lawgivers can forgive me for doubting them. I hope they can move on, now that they have saved California from bankruptcy, and go back to whatever it is they do when there are no disastrous problems facing them. Maybe come up with more cutting-edge ideas, like they did when they declared a “no cuss week.”